Hard Reset
by Delpheus
Summary: What do you do when your fame, power and equipment is stripped from you before an alternate world opens up before you ? 1) Wallow in self pity 2) Fight on and thrive in that new world 3) Make a deal with some greater entity and hedge your bets on a chance at something more.
1. The Technomancer 1

_**Hello to all you read this little story. I do hope you enjoy it. I'm rather new to this little franchise... Is it a franchise?... Probably. Eh call it what you will . So I hope you'll all be happy to lend me your support. Feel free to point out any flaws you see and how I can improve. It'd be very much appreciated. Well I'll let you all get on with it. Do enjoy.**_

* * *

He took two steps forwards in order to bait the dragons strike. The behemoths large claws tore up the ground as he stepped back and avoided the strike. As the dragon pulled it's claws from the ground he'd already charged forwards, the edge of his greatsword lit up with a blue hue as he focused his magic and the sound of metal grinding together rung in his ears as his blade glanced off the hard scales of the dragon. A small cut was the only evidence he'd struck the boss monster. He let out a quiet growl as he slammed the sword into the ground and used the remaining momentum of his charge to swing both his feet into the center of the monsters chest. A shockwave of force exploded when his metal boots collided with the hard scales and he noted how some of the trees in the forest had lost their leaves rather abruptly as he kicked off the monster and pushed himself back to a relatively safe distance.

He took the few seconds he had to examine the dragon in front of him while shifting his hold on his sword. The point where his feet had hit had left the scales cracked but still intact while his great-swords impact point only had a shallow cut. He let out a breath and focused as the dragon roared. It barreled forwards and opened it's mouth as fire spewed forth from it's maw. He dove to the side as the blazing stream of death approached and changed his dive into a roll when he hit the ground. The dragon kept going before running through several trees and turning back towards him.

He sheathed the greatsword onto his back and focused some magic around his gauntlets. A pair of silver glyphs span around each of his arms and he enhanced his feet with magic as well. It took three steps to close the distance and one more to get in position. He foot landed hard on to the dirt and he focused a large portion of his magic into his fists as he sent a flurry of punches towards the cracked scales which slowly became more brittle with each punch. With a roar of effort he landed one last punch and shattered the scales followed by a single smooth movement that unsheathed his greatsword and plunged it into the depths of the monster. It let out a roar that made his ears ring as it collapsed forwards and shook the ground with it's impact as it hit the dirt.

He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding as he stabbed his sword into the ground and took off the helmet covering his face. It's stylized front came off into two separate parts and he combed his messy black hair into something approaching an ordered style of sorts.

He glanced at what was left of his armor and took note of what he'd lost.

 _Left shoulder pad. Right knee guard. Left center piece… Damn that was expensive too._

He shook his head and reveled in the tranquility the forest gave off. It lasted for all of twenty seconds before something hit his chest with a revolting splat followed by a sizzling sound. He looked at the green gelatinous mass that slowly ate into his armor and quickly used some magic to detach the breached chest piece revealing the black undersuit he wore as the metal armor hit the ground. He quickly put the helmet back on and stared at the approaching green tide that made his eyes widen in astonishment.

… _that's got to be at least… fifty fucking slimes…_

He then spotted the two larger figures that sat at the back of the swarm. A similar green to that of the slimes adorned their plate armor with various holes leaking a substance that ate away at the ground under them covered their bodies and he felt his astonishment climb higher as he recognized the figures.

 _Two Lords as well! Really… great… Really done it this time Levi._

He focused his magic around his body and formed a barrier as he pulled his greatsword from the ground and held it with both hands. He charged into the tsunami of green in front of him and kept charging with his sword pointed forwards until it pierced through the body of the first Lord. It went down with a wet gurgling sound that made him shiver and with a quick movement he swung his sword in a complete revolution around himself cutting through a decent portion of the slimes that surrounded him. The small menu that appeared in the corner of his vision said he'd killed about ten in that attack and he reset his guard as the slimes began their assault. A third of them grouped up and he watched as they formed into a hammer that seemed even larger then his own greatsword . The remaining Lord walked up to it and heaved it up with one hand while he thrust his hand to the side. The remaining slimes formed together and made a shield that seemed to flow like water across it's surface. The hammer was surrounded with a green glow and Levi tightened his hold on his sword as he lunged towards the Lord. He focused what was left of his already overstressed magic reserves into the blade and swung as hard as he could. A large bang like a gunshot exploded across the forest as his sword collided with the hammer and he heard the sound of sheering metal before a large surge of pain went through his body and he blacked out.

* * *

He blinked his bleary vision away and stared at the familiar white space he was in. He laughed quietly as he stood up and saw the usual menu in front of him. A monotone voice ran across the space with a volume that still hurt his ears no matter how many times he heard it.

"Level 998. Health points. Zero. Mana. Zero. Experience. Five million out of six million. Name. Levi Flint. Do you wish to respawn?"

Levi popped his shoulder as he pressed the blue circle in front of him.

"Confirmed… respawn in… sixty minutes and fifty seconds."

 _Great… now I've gotta find something to pass the time._

He swiped his hand to the side and tapped one of the pouches on his belt. A grid like menu appeared and he took his time slowly scrolling through it while he organized the items inside to waste what time he had left. He noticed how he'd lost some of his more expensive potions and he glared at the menu as he saw more and more items were missing. He then noticed something odd. He shifted one of items and watched in astonishment as the item disappeared. His astonishment quickly became alarm as more items vanished from his pockets and he quickly closed his menu.

"System. Run diagnostic."

He jogged over to a small holographic screen and his eyes widened when he saw the strange green text that crawled across he screen.

 _Well hello there._

He stared at the message.

 _I know you're there. Feel free to speak if you want. It makes communicating so much easier._

"Um… Hi… who are you?"

 _Oh look he can talk… I'm the god of this world._

Levi stared at the screen blankly.

"That so…?"

 _Yeah. And I'm bored right now so since you've died I thought I'd meddle in your affairs for a bit._

"Wait... You're God?"

 _Yup._

"Ah... Can I punch you?"

 _Not physically no._

"Damn... Well I guess the Devil isn't going to be particularly happy with me then..." He looked up slightly from the console. "Great choice me. Perfectly fine idea to make a deal with the dying king of the underworld."

 _Hang on... You made a deal with the devil... Who you killed... To punch me in the face._

"He gave me his fucking castle and maids. All of which were in his personally chosen attire I might add. No man can say no to something like that."

 _Right..._

"Stop. Don't you go judging me now! You're supposed to a voice that is neutral and unbiased."

 _I've been alive since this world was a boiling mass of superheated rock. I'm well passed biased opinions._

"Yet you can get bored?... So what exactly does that entail for me?"

 _Eh the usual. Delete your items. Reset your stats etcetera. Though I did get this wonderful offer I'm reading about._

"Oh that doesn't sound good." He whispered as he saw some of his armor shatter and vanish revealing more of the black undersuit.

 _It isn't… well for you anyway. For me on the other hand. Well let's say this is very one-sided._

"Okay. I'm so going to regret this but this is bad for me because..?"

 _Oh I chose you to be… requisitioned by this other dimension that wanted a hand dealing with something or other._

"You don't even know what the problem is?! Some god you are."

 _Don't go speaking like you know me bud._

"Wow now I'm your bud am I? Say can I have my stuff back? I respawn in like…" he glanced at the screen behind him only to find it shuddering before it vanished in a bright flash of light. "… What the hell did you do asshole!"

 _Nothing much. Just pushed this little blue button here labeled reset. Might want to check your stats. Just a suggestion._

He quickly swiped his hand up and glanced at the menu in front of him before glaring angrily at the screen.

"My… my levels all the way back at one… do you know how many fucking lives I had to go through to get it to as high as I did! I was so close to _infinity_ status!"

 _Eh… A hundred something . I don't really pay attention to these things. Oh that means your strength stats at level one too right… then I'll be taking your sword and armor. Not like you'd be able to use them anyway._

A bright flash of light surrounded him and his armor vanished. He reacted quickly and managed to move his sword from his body and into one of special inventory slots before it shattered too.

 _What's this? You've finally remembered about the permanent inventory squares. But why waste it on your sword?_

"That… is one thing you can't take. No one takes my sword… no one. "

 _Yes, yes very melodramatic. Doesn't really bother me I guess. Not like you'll be able to use it for quite a while anyway. Oh right I needed to do this didn't I._

The space around him became pitch black before the ground seemed to split itself into squares bordered by a bright cyan hue. A pair of large tendrils hit the ground with a large explosion of artificial light before the cyan energy on the floor disappeared. In-between the tendrils, a vortex of glowing green energy appeared.

 _Personally I'd rather not deal with these… minor beings from over yonder so let's make a deal hey._

"Yeeaah... No I'm not doing that."

 _Really? Why turn down an offer from God himself?_

"Two reasons. One. You're and asshole for deleting my stuff."

 _Fair enough. The second?_

"This your problem so give me a reason why I should play along with your scheme."

 _They have maids. I know you like them._

"Need more that that... It's tempting but I still need more incentive."

 _Then how about this. If you succeed I'll restore all of your statistics and even throw in a bonus... Let's say two million experience as well as a couple million generic units of currency. Good enough?_

He stopped and stared at the words in front of him as he weighed his options. He either ended up sitting in the rather ominous dark area he was in now or he could go somewhere else where there was a chance he'd be able to do something useful… maybe fight something stronger then a Lord… that sounded interesting. He glanced towards the vortex of energy.

"I suppose it'll do... But I want one more thing?"

 _Name your price._

"I get to keep my magic."

 _Trivial. Wonderful to know we have an agreement. Now off you pop._

He stared at the vortex and closed his eyes for a second as he steeled his nerves. He then opened them before running straight through it was the as much speed as he could muster. It vanished with a quiet boom and a final line of text rushed across the small screen before it flickered out of existence and the space lost all it's color.

 _Should probably have told him to jump feet first… or to have walked in… eh he'll live… hopefully._

* * *

The first thing he felt when all the swirling colors, flashing lights and oddly... telephone boxes... disappeared was pain. Pain so strong that his vision went white. It slowly vanished and was replaced by a feeling similar to being submerged. He then saw a marble floor above him which he found weird before his face impacted with hard cracking sound. The pain returned and he began regretting his decision to a running start as his vision swam and his hearing rang. He heard an incoherent babble and with a quiet grunt of effort he slowly managed to get to his feet. His disorientation continued as he found himself in a spacious room that looked akin to a living room. A kitchen was attached and he made tracks towards it before finding what looked like a tap and gathering some water in his hands. He then splashed his face and through the help of what little magic he'd regenerated he dried his face.

Throughout his attempt to focus his swimming thoughts the babbling voices spoke in hushed tones and once the water hit his face he felt the regenerative attribute he seemed to still possess kick in. The voices slowly became clear and as he dried his face he listened with a distracted look to throw off whoever was talking.

"Do you think he's okay?"

The second voice he heard sounded slightly more mature to his ears.

"He's a man. I'm sure he's fine… what do you think Neptune?"

"He's fine. Look he just needed to freshen up. Traveling through dimensions always hurts your head. Take it from someone who's an experienced dimensional tripper."

He stared out the window as he figured out what the personal called Neptune meant by that but he shook his head and rolled his neck around as he turned to face the people in front of him. The first thing he noticed was that they were all women. The next was the slight glow they all possessed. Not very noticeable to the normal eye he was sure but he guessed his experience around light mages made him more sensitive towards the subtle difference. He saw one of them notice his gaze as they opened their mouth to speak. He cut off the purple haired youth in her white and purple parka with a stretch as he loosened his shoulders by stretching his arms above his head.

"Where the hell am I ?"

He made sure to nod towards the purple haired person as he said that so he got an answer from her.

"This is Gameindustri. We summoned you here."

He cocked his head to the side slightly as he turned his head towards the next person in their line.

"You. Twintails. Who are you people?"

Said woman was wearing a fancy looking dress consisting of dark blue, white, red, and small amounts of gold lining with a few buttons. The dress part covered a red with black spiked lining cloth while the breast part was white, along with the skirt which had black lining on both layers. Behind that was a blue bow, matching a smaller one worn around her neck attached to a black and white collar.

He stared straight at her striking red eyes which bore a little too much resemblance to the eyes of a demon he'd stared down once for his own liking.

"You spoke to Neptune before. I'm Noire. The person next to me is Blanc and next to her is Vert. We're the four CPU's who reside over the four nations that make up Gameindustri."

She opened her mouth to continue but he'd already shifted his attention to the smaller person with brown hair. A white dress with dark brown lining and markings on it covered her body and around her neck was a light blue choker with a single white stripe in the middle and blue gem in the center. Her blue eyes seemed a tad dull to him but he sensed an aura that to him at least seemed a tad dangerous. Though he couldn't figure out why.

"What is a CPU?"

"Console Patron Unit."

He looked at her for more details but he didn't get anything so with a sigh he turned to the other woman who he guessed was Vert. Maybe it was the height difference but she seemed to have a mature attitude to her that and the fact that he'd gotten bored with his routine of point and ask bluntly made him refine his word choice slightly to the ire of Noire from his slight glance at her out of the corner of his eyes. A slight glint caught his eye off in the distance but he dismissed it as no more then glass reflecting the sunlight.

"Dear Miss. Do you think you could explain what that means?"

He saw her smile as she leaned forwards slightly. His eyes were pulled away from her face for a fraction fo a second but when he focused he swore her smile had turned ever so slightly into a smirk.

"Of course. A Console Patron Unit oversees a nation. If I were to put it in simple terms it would be like we were the boss monsters in a dungeon with each nations army as the grunts. The people here tend to to call us goddesses as a simpler term or CPU as well."

He found it slightly scary how he understood that better then the other explanations even though they seemed to have more information embedded then the relative allusion to a RPG the blond had given. He shook it off with a slight incline of his head. He then stopped and stared at them for a moment.

"I do hope you four won't mind if I point out a flaw in your story… your called goddesses but I don't really see why… if I were to base the assumption on sheer power then purple over there wins. Though if I go for pure elemental comparability then you each have your own… looks wise I guess I can see why… though I only see one of you suitable for that candidate I guess. "

The twintailed girl who Flint remembered was called Noire seemed to smile triumphantly at that comment which made him raise an eyebrow internally as he waited.

"Of course you'd pick me. I do have the most balanced proportions after all. And the fairest skin."

He stared at her blankly for a second.

"Well I guess your body is well proportioned if you want to put it that way… though my thoughts were with green over there… I think your name was Vert right? Sorry I'm not very good with names. But she has more…. What's the right word… volume where it counts… yeah I guess that works. I mean White it basically a flat sheet with no curves and Purple just doesn't have the appeal from the looks of it…. I guess the abstract hair colour might pull a few folks in but I don't really see the goddess like appeal of you four is what I guess I'm trying to say."

He smiled meekly but returned to his usual slight smirk and suppressed a larger smirk when he saw the wide eyes look that the twin tailed girl adopted. Purple didn't really seem the care with the mild shrug she gave it returned but a slightly worrying aura filled the room and shifted his mind into a significantly more alert state. His body twisted on it's own and he saw a glowing axe pass mere inches from his face. His eyes were wide when he saw the CPU he recalled as Blanc now having blue hair and a white skintight bodysuit glaring at him from her position holding the handle of the ridiculously large axe. Said axe having only just missed his face before implanting itself into the ground.

"What did you say you fucking bastard!"

He blinked as he calmly stepped away from the rather sharp looking blade.

"Vulgar language is rather unbecoming of a young lady such as yourself… especially a goddess at that… but then again I am a powerless extradimensional being who I guess insulted you yes.?"

"Its always about the chest! Always! Who cares about a pair of fat holding accessories! I have so much more appeal!"

"… the six foot tall axe says otherwise… currently the other three ladies seem to be much more attractive."

A large black blade soared over his shoulder as he ducked. A gentle application of wind magic pushing himself slightly to the side in order to avoid the person who attempted to shoulder check him after having missed their strike.

"I retract that statement. The two people behind me." He gave it a second to see if another attack would come and when it didn't he sighed quietly in relief. He glanced at the miniature menu in the corner of his vision.

 _Seems Sense transferred over at least. So did Footwork. But not many other things. Mana's still low so no weapon summoning assuming I can even summon a weapon at least… note to self… don't piss these people off anymore then I have. Death could occur… or just very painful injuries._

He looked back at the two ladies in front of him and got into a fighting stance while flaring what was left of his magic.. He didn't get far before a strange glow overtook his body and a bright flash of light engulfed his vision.


	2. The Technomancer 2

_**Hello to all you people still reading this... yeah I've been gone awhile... not my fault I swear... I totally didn't get distracted and shatter my device. His sir I didn't... well yeah I did. That's pretty much the reason for the ungodly delay... that and a hint of writers block... gotta love that.**_

 _ **Onto more important news. After this chapter in gonna be starting something new... you'll know when you read it. So give me a heads up on what you think.**_

* * *

He hated teleporting. That was one thing his mind continued to scream at him as he sat on the ground and simply attempted to get his bearings again.

He'd been through quite a few teleportation gates in his own world and those. Those were a cakewalk compared to what _that_ had been. His mind remembered the experience and his vision span again as he forced himself to close his eyes and restart his breathing exercises.

Apparently they were supposed to help reduce the disorientation that warping space time caused. At present the best they were doing was giving his head more reason to focus on the pounding headache he had.

All in all a pretty terrible start to his day… well getting stabbed by a knight made of acidic slime had been a pretty bad start to his day… this simply compounded on it and made his day that much worse.

He tried adding some magic into the mix and the subtle green glow he felt made his swirling vision clear up for the time being. He glanced at the small holographic display that sat in the corner of his vision and felt some solace at the fact his health was at least full. He looked at where the map would have usually say and instead saw the wonderful blankness of static. He swiped his hand and the screen vanished as he stood up.

Now that he was free from the shackles known as teleport sickness he finally managed to look around the room.

It wasn't very interesting now that he saw it. Simply a dark room with a variety of small crates. He shrugged from where he stood and wandered around the room.

His exploration led to finding out that the entire room was a circle without a single entry or exit. He guessed that the entrance was hidden but that only furthered his curiosity.

He looked at the various crates sitting around and with a shrug he wandered over to one and opened the top. He felt one of his eyebrows rise as he looked at what was inside.

A black bracer was on top of what looked like a piece of velvet. He picked the piece of armor up and looked more closely at it. It had small gold lines that accented the small crevices and slopes that covered its surface and he thought he felt a small tinge of magic around it too. He put it onto his hand and the his eyes widened as the metal clamped down on his arm. His vision went white with pain and he grit his teeth as the bracer dug into his arm. He saw a small flash of light and the pain vanished. The bracer looked mostly the same though he noticed the small spinning gem that say in the exact center of the bracer. It cast an eerie blue glow that matched his eyes onto the shiny metal gauntlet and he stared at it for moment.

A quiet clank made him whirl around and he saw a pair of glowing yellow eyed staring at him. More clanks sounded out and he saw a second pair of eyes in the corner of his vision. A small display settled in front of him and he quickly skimmed over it.

 _Pandoras gauntlet… variable gauntlet weapon. Keyed for mechanical corruption and reprogramming… for high intensity laser extend thumb and index finger… laser huh…_

He saw a hint of movement and he brought his wrist up and pointed out at one of the glowing eyes. It advanced forwards until he saw a strange metal body clad in metal armour. The automation in front of him kept walking towards him before reaching behind it's back and retrieving a blade. A simple silver longsword that reflected an ominous glow as it pointed it towards him. He moved one of his feet back a little as he waited for it to pounce. It sprung towards him and he quickly moved his fingers. Two small lasers met over the gem and a beam thicker than his arm shot towards the bots chest. It melted a hole through it and he swung his arm around towards the other bot that stood still. The thing seemed to be smarter then it's partner and moved out if the way as the beam swept past it.

He closed his fist and the beam stopped. Instead a new weapon appeared from the gauntlet. A strange spike of sorts. Veiled in a thin layer of blue energy. He gave it a glance and when he realised that he had absolutely zero idea how to fight with something as short as this was when the bot struck.

It closed the distance with a leap that made him step back as it unsheathed a sword of similar design to the one the bisected copy had held. He shook himself out of his thoughts and focused as he set himself into a stance. The bot swung its blade and he used the bracer to deflect the cut while jamming his fist cloaked in magic at the steel contraptions face.

It stumbled back and he quickly moved to take advantage of the situation. He took a step forward and quickly sent an uppercut that connected with it's face and rose it into the air followed by punching forwards with his other hand.

The spike on shot forwards as he punched and it pierced the metal armour covering the chest with ease.

He saw the bot convulse as it's eyes flickered. He kept the spike embedded inside it until it's eyes were a solid blue and he slowly pulled out the spike that seemed to be dripping black liquid.

The spike vanished into his bracer as the previously slumped bot rose to its full height. A little over six feet and about half a head taller than Flint. It had a synthetic voice that seemed to buzz on occasion as it talked. Something Flint found extremely annoying.

"New code integration complete. Loyalty program activation complete. Welcome Locksmith."

He stared for a moment as he shook his head.

 _Great. A title. Just what I needed_

He kept his feelings on the title off his face as he idly rocked on the balls of his feet.

"Where am I?"

"Cargo pod s48a. Aboard the Furefly."

He motioned for more and the bot replied.

"A skylifter class freight transport. We are currently crashed into a mountain in Lowee."

He rose an eyebrow at that and ended His rocking.

"Why exactly are we crashed on a mountain?"

"System failure..."

He stared at the next before shaking his head

"Well... okay then... how do I get out of here?"

"This way."

The bot waved it's hand in a strangely human manner and Flint shrugged as he followed behind it. He came up to one if the walls and the arm of the bot shifted before it jabbed two if it's fingers into what looked like a lock. It's wrist rotated and he heard a hiss before a stream of cold air made him shiver. The door slowly opened and he whistled when he stepped out into the massive cargo bay.

The roof towered over him as he visualized this full of various pods holding whatever they had inside. The bay had been close to full from the large assortment of different coloured circular pods that were scattered on the ground. His eyes glanced past a corner before they snapped back and stared at the two orange lights that were locked onto him. He reacted on instinct and formed a shield of magic before something akin to a metallic laugh came from the bot next to him.

"Don't mind the Watchers. They're harmless."

He eyed the glowing lights with a hint of suspicion as he kept his shield up.

L"ast time someone said that, I almost died."

The bot pulled off a surprisingly fluid shrug as it turned.

"If you feel more comfortable with a defensive weapon aimed at the harmless surveillance system then you can do so. I would advise that you focus on the actual threat to your life."

He slowly began following behind the bot as it strode through a pair of large doors into a bare metal hallway

"There's a threat here?"

It turned it's head completely around to look at him as it kept walking forwards making him shudder.

"You do wish to take control of this location do you not?"

He narrowed his eyes in thought and didn't answer until they came to end of the hallway.

..".It'd be good to have a place to work from…"

"We'll if you wish to control this place, you will have to either rewrite or destroy the enforcer class robots in this place."

"Enforcers?"

"They act as our… hubs… I suppose that is the appropriate human word. They distribute information to us and issue orders. Like a commanding officer but significantly more heavily armoured. Each enforcer is built for a specific task and as such are armed and armoured to accomplish their task."

"Who should I watch out for?"

"Factoring in your lack of armor and your close range limitations you would be would be wise to avoid Designation Sarge. He wields an oscillating cannon. Perfect for unarmored targets."

 _The hell is an oscillating cannon?_

"I'll keep that in mind."

He let out a breath and walked towards a large set of doors. They opened with a hiss and he walked into a pitch black room. His vision adjusted a little but he still couldn't see anything other than his own two feet. A flicker of light in the corner drew his attention and the flickering became faster until the light turned solid. A deep shade of green that rose into the air and settled around his height. It got closer and he started hearing metallic clanks as what he guessed was the enforcer got closer. _Footwork_ saved him from getting bisected and he felt something sharp miss his midsection thanks to a well timed step backwards. His feet kept moving as the swings came and he only noticed how close they were from the occasional displacement of wind in front of his body. He ducked under a particularly heavy blow and pushed himself forwards. The spike materialised as he aimed an uppercut that would impale the almost invisible bot through its jaw. He hoped it would anyway. The darkness wasn't exactly helping when it came to planning his strikes. His swing arched upwards and the bot drew back and avoided it before slamming it's blade into his suit. Hed never been happier that it was enchanted but the hit still hurt enough for him to reevaluate. He focused on the bot as he was blown back by the force and he used his magic to act as a detector. He quickly sent out pulses and through it he managed to get an idea on how the bot looked. Slim was an apt description. Very slim. It also had four strange cylinders on it one on each ankle and two on it's back. He snapped himself from his focus induced haze when he heard the bot start running towards him. He heard a strange whine followed by his eyes widening as the place where the bots legs were burst into flames. It quickly rose into the air and came down at him before it pinned him to the ground. He glared at it and smiled internally as it rose one of its hands. Probably to pierce him through the chest with whatever melee weapon it had. He quickly moved his hand and jabbed it in the stomach.

It convulsed much like the previous bot and to him it still seemed like it was trying to kill him from the freakishly close swipes of its weapon that barely missed his clothing. He put more force into his arm and the bot finally stopped moving as it slumped to the ground. He let out a breath and slowly stood up as the adrenaline faded and was replaced by a burning sensation in his muscles.

The regeneration magic that flared around his body was helpful at least. Though he wished hed figured out a spell that replenished his stamina at the same time. He turned around and started when the lights suddenly bathed the room in an amber glow. The bot he'd stabbed also rose from the ground. It gave off a metallic whine and he felt a shield settle in his hands as he got ready to defend against it. It held out a hand to him and then dropped it's weapon making him raise an eyebrow.

It then started miming something that Flint couldn't comprehend. It seemed to notice and let out a sigh that jarred his ears as it gave an overly dramatic flourish of its hands and pointed to a door behind it.

He stared for a moment at the weird conversion but he eventually shook his head and walked to the other door. He injected some confidence into his stride and walked straight through the door. He saw the smaller hacked much that stood at attention with both hands behind it's back as if it had been there all along. He could sense the approval almost literally radiating off of it as it joined his stride.

"It seems you've overcome the first test."

He sent a half hearted glare towards it.

"Next time I have to walk into a room with no light. At least give me a little warning."

"As you wish."

They walked in silence for a few minutes until he decided to ask what the bot he'd fought was.

"Ah yes. Designation Recon. The Scout pattern Enforcer. No vocal transmitter as I'm sure youve noted. That's why he mimes. Makes it easier to communicate to organic beings such as yourself."

"Yeah… it's odd."

"More unique then odd Locksmith. As his designation implies, hes the best automaton when it comes to long distance tracking and analysis. As you probably witnessed he does also have a jump pack to facilitate vertical movement."

"He dive bombed me… does he normally do that?"

"It was effective was it not?"

He nodded his head minutely and when he turned his head up a tad he saw the next door in front of him.

 _Here we go again. Let's see what's behind door number two._


	3. The Soldier 1

The glare blinded him as he looked out over the horizon. It was a stunning sunrise to be sure. Bright and vibrant with enough energy to make anyone who saw it stop and gaze lazily over. He felt a little sad knowing that he'd have to pull his eyes away from it but he did as he gazed through his binoculars again. He had to give them credit. If anything ASIC was careful.

The compound was surprisingly small but somehow managed to emit the same intimidating atmosphere that the larger facilities he'd scouted had. Maybe it was the oversized flak cannons that topped every corner. Or the soldiers that patrolled the walls that were thick enough to probably stop even a goddesses strike.

It wasn't very surprising to see the soldiers that were lined up on one of the large fields. Each of them in perfectly straight lines and wearing rather crude plate armour. Well crude by Planeptuian standards at least. If he compared it against Lastations basic armour it was probably on par with that. Exposed plates of black metal covered their chests and full helmets completely enclosed their heads. More then likely they had some type of HUD inside to let them see. He noted each of the officers who stood nearby. The green armour making them stand out against the concrete ground. Similar armour but it looked heavier.

He made a note from what he saw before carefully moving away from the cliff edge and quietly sneaking a fair distance away. He worked out a few kinks in his body as he stretched his sleeping muscles and tapped his helmet as he did so.

"Base still safe Sara?"

"Fine." Was the reply from his softspoken companion. One who he still couldn't get to say more then three words in a sentence.

"As informative as ever." He quietly grumbled. "How's our friend doing?"

"Fine."

He was tempted to roll his eyes at the monosyllabic response but he'd been with her too long to care.

"Great. No one suspicious came by?"

"No."

"Okay. Well I'll be back in ten or so."

"Report?"

"Same as always. Guards on the walls, people standing at attention for no good reason, and cannons pointed up at the sky." He shook his head as he sighed quietly. "Sometimes I wish these guys made sense."

"Simple. Grab leader."

"If only. Sadly you know what command said."

"Observe. Report."

"Yup. Well we'll just do that. Hopefully I get to shoot one of them soon."

"Calm. Be calm."

"I am calm... They're just so easy to shoot. One shot... with one shot I could take down ten people."

"Mute."

"Mute? What do mean mute?"

He didn't get a reply and felt himself start to glare at his HUD. She'd actually muted him. He punched a tree as he walked by and kept walking past it. He arrived at the rather meager camp they had. Three small tents around a small fire. A quick glance led him to a beige tent with a small coms dish next to it and he walked into it to find the usual oppressive darkness that made up it's insides. The figure sitting in front if the laptop at the far end turned her head for a second before turning it back.

"Your late."

He shrugged.

"The sun's a distracting thing."

He saw her shake her head as he walked further into the tent.

""Get too close and your wings will burn off."

"Then I'll just stay at a safe distance. Anything new?"

"Commands nagging me for a new report. Let me guess. Same as always?"

"Not a single change. I though you said these guys were up to something?"

Her chair spun around and he saw the cloak clad figure look at him. Her plain white mask contrasted dramatically with the shadowy cloak and the hardened body armour under it.

"Don't trust me?"

He tentatively leaned on one of the supporting metal struts.

"I don't trust a turncoat who threatened my superior"

"Not like it had much impact. He brushed it off... we're off topic..."

He paused as she quickly turned back to her laptop and waited for her to continue.

"Well this is intresting."

"What?"

"Recall order. Apparently something's come up back home."

"Any details?"

"Nothing important. Just that there's a shuttle coming to get us and that we should be ready to go in three hours... You also have to see boss man when we get back."

"Great. Better get started then."

* * *

The usual oppressive silence filled the cramped interior of the shuttle as it skimmed across the sky. Miles looked out the window at the rushing landscape below and kept doing so for a few more minutes until an irritatingly loud ping made him look over at Clarise. She looked back at him with her green eyes before flinging a small datapad his way. He caught it and tapped it. A second went by as the pad underwent it's usual authorisation procedure and once he was cleared he skimmed what he was supposed to read. He shook his head as he threw it back followed by sitting down on his seat and going through his usual routine of unconsciously disassembling and reassembling his rifle. It probably spoke volumes of how well he knew the piece of tech now that he could do strip it without even thinking about it.

He was sure some of the rookies would think he was obsessed with the weapon if they saw him do it. Or they'd ask how he did it. Either way he'd end up dealing with an annoying red-shirt who he'd rather stay far away from. He looked at his watch and the digital surface rippled as his eyes saw the screen.

 _Two more hours till they arrived at base. Might as well get some shut eye._

* * *

His groggy vision gave way to the usual crumbling city. Burning buildings and frozen people graced the corners of his vision. His rifle appeared in his hand and he took a casual glance through his scope to see if it was the usual dream.

The silver titan confirmed it. A hulking figure in the heaviest suit of armor he'd seen stood on a throne of shinning blue digits. Each piece of armour had various runes etched on it's surface that shone in the many hues of yellow and orange. The entire suit was battle scarred. Bullet holes, laser burns and even a point where a large caliber shell had impacted dotted the armor. It's angular surface became a deep scarlet as it walked off it's throne in his direction.

He pointed his rifle at it as he crouched onto a knee.

Took aim at one of the chevron like holes in it's helmet.

Fired a burst rounds with the rhythm of a fast drum beat.

The magnetically accelerated rounds barely scratched the armor as it slowly walked towards him but he kept shooting as he'd done before. The figure in armor closed the distance until he was halfway from his throne. Then he stopped. Miles stared for a moment before quickly reloading and pointing his rifle back towards the towering knight. It now turned to the side and outstretched one of its hands. A finger was pointed out into the distance. He followed the finger with his eyes and saw a large building. It was the tallest building he'd seen in the burning city and was surrounded by a purple dome of large hexagons coming from somewhere on it's roof.

His vision blurred as he focused and with considerable effort he managed to see what looked like burning vehicles in front of it. Large bipedal mechs, walking tanks and what looked a jet were all wreckage that smoked in front of its doors which were open. He felt the ground change slightly as his feet sank into the asphalt making his gaze trail back to the knight. It's large metal glove had sunk into the ground. In one quick motion it pulled out something that looked like a body and threw it in his direction. The body spiraled through the air but before he could see any detail his mind canceled the dream.

* * *

The blinding white light that greeted him was about as painful as having your eyes stabbed by a particularly large skewer. A familiar pain that Miles had thought he'd overcome after years of sleeping in shuttes. Apparently not.

He double checked his rifle was with him while his eyes adjusted and did the same for his pistol. From the feeling in his hand he still had his gear and so he stood up. He felt the slight jolt as the shuttle landed and he heard the yawn as Sara woke up. She'd adopted his tactic of sleeping where possible on a shuttle ride. Something extremely useful in his opinion. He shook his head and departed the shuttle. The air base he saw was a pretty normal site. People scrambling about in surprisingly productive chaos. Except for the few who weren't. That's where he spied the black military blazer of his commander. He saw him watching the shuttle for a moment followed by his gaze moving over to him. He gave a small nod in his direction and Miles answered the unspoken request by holstering his rifle on his back and walking up to him as he stepped aside and started walking.

"Sir."

"Decard. You're twenty seconds late."

"Apologies sir. It won't happen again."

"I hope so. Report."

"The Lastation base is heavily defended. Bastion strength walls with each corner capped with quadruple linked anti aircraft cannons. More then a hundred soldiers in ballistic armor as of my last report."

"Unlikely that we'll get an opportunity to attack then, unfortunate."

Miles glanced around as he walked and felt his eyes widen slightly as he looked at two of the hangers. Their large doors were melted through and the doors themselves were on the ground a ways from the hangers structure.

"Some idiot came and stole two of our Vipers"

He rose an eyebrow as he asked his question.

"Why a Viper?"

"Exactly my train of thought. Among other things the transports outdated compared to our Valkyrie's. Worse weapons. Worse stealth and It's less durable."

"Do we know who stole them?"

The commander shook his head.

"No. No fingerprints or DNA according to the lab coats. Security was in the process of being upgraded so our cameras were down as was the majority of our sensors. Whoever had the guts to steal from us was either extremely lucky or they had inside knowledge of our systems and schedules."

The commander shook his head again before a small smirk covered his face.

"But that's to be discussed later. I'm weighing you down with the bad news. Today's supposed to be a day of celebration for you."

"Celebration sir?"

The smirk grew and it almost turned mischeveous but instead flickered to professional.

"You finally get that junior you've always wanted."

He blinked in surprise before a small hint of anger settled in the back of his head

"I don't remember applying for a mentor position sir?"

"Decision by the goddess. She'd taken an interest in your marksmanship. Given you someone to teach. "

Miles had a slight suspicion that this walk had taken as long as it had for a reason and he felt his suspicion double when he rounded the corner and saw the girl standing outside the commanders office.

He did a double take when he spotted her lack of military attire. A strange black dress with a bluish lining covered the majority of her body. A belt with a similarly strange bow behind it sat with her attire as did a large circle connecting her dress to her collar. Similarly coloured fingerless gloves completed her look with a pair of blue and black ribbons holding part of her chest length hair in a pair of pony tails. Her scarlet eyes stared at his own deeper crimson ones and he felt an odd clicking on the back of his head. A feeling he usually associated with fate and it's persistent need to screw with him.

He saw the commander slow down ever so slightly.

"Intresting sight no. Not everyday we get graced by a divine candidate."

Miles felt the clicking stop as he heard the last part of the sentence. His exclamation of surprise was interrupted by the commander raising a hand. Something the candidate took as a greeting if her confident smile and friendly wave were anything to go by.

"Come inside and we'll talk. I want your opinion on her as well."

He nodded as the commander unlocked his door and walked through. Once they were all inside he turned around and sat on his desk while somehow managing to maintain the same professional feel in the room.

"Introductions first. Then we can start the questions. You already know who I am I presume?"

She spoke and Miles could _feel_ the confidence she oozed.

"Colonel Wynter. Survivor of the Fürefly incident."

Wynter nodded and looked over at Miles who quietly let out a breath and straightened his pose slightly.

"Good. How about me?"

He saw her head turn to him and she narrowed her eyes in concentration. He mentally counted and when he reached twenty he relaxed his posture.

"Didn't think so. Miles Decard. Your new leader apparently. Pleasure to meet you...?"

She took the cue and sent a surprisingly friendly smile his way.

"Uni. Just Uni."

He accepted her handshake and turned to the commander.

"She'll do I guess."

Wynter gave him a wry smile.

"Already? No marksman tests? Massive guns to see if she can handle the weight?"

" Fate is on her typewriter. She's clicking away to finish this chapter on our story."

Uni shot him a perplexed look while Wynter merely nodded and threw him a small holster. In one quick motion Miles pulled out the revolver and pointed towards her.

She stepped back quickly before freezing. He let out a hum.

"You think your dress will stop a bullet?"

"What?"

"Can your dress stop a bullet?"

She hesitated for a moment but he let her take her time. It made the final reaction a tad more interesting normally.

He saw her eyes glow slightly as she narrowed them towards him.

"Yeah. It will."

He pulled back the hammer on the gun.

"Do you really think that?"

She nodded making Miles crack a hint of a smile as he calmly pointed the gun to her side and let it click empty. He flicked the safety on and holstered the revolver.

"Confidence in your equipment. A good trait. Reaction time was good too. Sir. I recommend you tell the goddess I'd be glad to teach her. Well until I see that she's unfit for an actual fight." He locked his gaze onto hers. "Try to impress me."

She gave a slow nod and shortly afterwards Wynter dismissed her and they waited for her to shut the door before Miles sat down on the chair. Wynter's voice echoed in the room.

"Thoughts?"

He felt his cheery act subside as he looked at the commander from the corner of his vision.

"A lamb. One who's yet to see actual combat. That true?"

"Pandora does like you doesn't she? Not much combat training yet but she's proficient in multiple forms of martial arts for close security."

"If lady luck does favour me I hope I can get something worthwhile more often. It'll be quite the job to get her strong enough. I can't help with any magic based training but I'll assume the goddess has that covered."

"Personal tutoring."

"In that case. I can teach her to shoot a rifle as far as she needs. It'll be up to her to find her combat style though."

"So?"

He shrugged.

"Not like I have much of a choice... How about everyone else?"

"Lady Noire pulled a few strings. You'll still be together. Maybe they can enhance her training...That's all."

"Of course Sir. "

He stood up and opened the door.

"Decard."

He glanced back.

"Try to avoid a repeat of the last candidate who trained here."

He kept looking at the commander before losing his grin.

"Fate creates her path for us. We do not create the path only walk it." He let out a breath. "But I'll have a chat with her about my protege. "

"That's all I ask."

He nodded and walked out. Once the door was shut he felt his body relax significantly. A few seconds passed as he let his mind process everything and while it did he fiddled with his watch.

 _I'm teaching a mini goddess now... wonderful... better get to the range, I ain't missing a shot with her watching._


	4. The Soldier 2

The air smelled of smoke and melted steel. The ground in front of the hanger was scorched and after running two of his fingers over the cold surface he sighed as he turned around to look over at the others.

Sara was glaring into the hanger as if a demon had appeared from within while Uni was going through some information on the data slate they'd been given.

Some idiot had decided it was a good idea to steal one of Planeptunes new Stargazer fighters. He glanced at the schematics from his HUD and went over every detail of the blue wireframe. It's swept forward wings gave it an arrowhead like shape and the three vertical engines stood out. One on each wing and one in the center. A pair of larger thrusters were built into the back giving the craft it's supersonic speed. All in all it was a rather sleek craft.

He preferred Lastations Raptors. They had more guns.

He wandered over to Sara and her frozen form before tapping her on the shoulder.

"You okay?"

"Magic. In the hanger."

He let out a hum and stared into the hanger as he talked.

"So it was a Mage? Perfect… why do we never get easy assignments?"

"Best. We are."

He rolled his eyes and looked at her.

"You know. Just once. I'd like to have something simple. Attack this place. Shoot this person."

He shook his head again.

"Uni. What you got?"

She turned around and walked over to him.

"Whoever stole the fighter fell from the sky… they had to be a mage. That or a mech."

He watched the night vision footage of a black figure dropping out of the sky. They hovered for a second before falling through the roof. A few more seconds went by before an explosion of light burst open the door and the Skygazer roared out of the hanger. The vertical thrusters ignited near where the black spots on the ground were and the vehicle shot upwards in a shallow curve.

He saw Uni narrow her eyes.

"They had to have had previous experience with a fighter… no. They had to have been an ace to even get close to having the entire thing booted up and spooled that quickly."

He stared and let out another hum. This was impossible. Not even fighter aces could get their entire plane ready in seconds. Even if he excluded the preflight checks, it usually took at least thirty seconds to get the engines fully powered.

His brow furrowed and he let out a sigh before feeling a hint of hope center in his chest. He instinctively looked up and saw the floating figure who moved down towards them.

A black body suit with it's purple accents, the wings flanking her sides, her signature purple katana.

He saw all of those as she landed lightly and looked over at them. Her smile was confident and energetic. He felt one on the edge of his lips and he let it show as he went down onto one of his knees. Sara followed while Uni merely waved over at her.

"Ah. Uni! How is the search progressing?"

Her voice held the same confidence as her smile and after a lazy wave from her hand the two humans stood up. He took a respectful step back that was mirrored by Sara. Uni answered with as much frustration as she could expel.

"The thief is impossible!"

Lady Purple Heart rose an eyebrow.

"Impossible?"

Uni shook her head as she sighed.

"He fully activated the jet in twenty seconds. Then flew it out of Planeptunes airspace completely undetected."

The goddess nodded before looking over at him. Her momentary frown was replaced with a bright smile as she walked over to him.

"I don't believe we've met?"

He smiled as he kneeled once again.

"Miles Decard. Lastation special operations. Lady Purple Heart. It is an honor to meet you."

"The honor is mine. A phantom huh? Why would a phantom be investigating something like this?"

Phantom was the name that Lastation gave it's special forces… he had no idea why but he guessed it was something to do with their black armor and the cloaking tech that came standard with it.

He pulled a data slate from behind his back as he stood up and tapped on it a few times before handing it to the goddess.

"A similar incident occurred over at one of Lastations air bases as well. We lost two Vultures though. One was a Striker Pattern while the other was a Lifter. We believe this is connected so I was sent."

"I see… Something to think about. How's Uni?"

He looked at her for a moment and focused on how to phrase his thoughts.

"She's one of my better students… though I've had better."

"Wait… what?"

He noticed the perplexed expression and nodded his head to reaffirm his point.

"I've told her many times that she relies too heavily on her goddess attributes. Her faster reaction time or better eyesight. Don't misinterpret what I say. It's good… she's just a little too reliant on it… that and her magic. Controlling a bullets location is good but it does nothing if your hit with a seal of sorts."

He may have exagerated the flaws a little but she was in all truth scarily good. She held a Shatter rifle as it was called. Named for its ability to sometimes make armor literally shatter like glass. It was a long barreled sniper with a caliber a little over 50… she could fire the thing one handed and control the recoil almost perfectly. It was semiautomatic too… she basically turned one of the deadliest rifles in Lastations current inventory into a DMR.

He believed terrifying was decent word to describe her.

He smiled mentally at the effect her little demonstration at the shooting range had done… she'd hit a nail at 500 meters with a red dot sight… it had definitely left an impression on the redshirts that was for sure.

He nodded as the goddess spoke of a few measures she was putting in place. They seemed appropriate.

"Any news on ASIC?"

He swiped a couple times on his data slate and passed it to her.

"Somethings happening. They're running drills over at Lastations stronghold."

"It seems they're preparing."

"The question is what for?"

"Indeed… if I may suggest an extra precaution…?"

"Of course."

"I'd recommend that your guard be doubled Lady goddess. Our enemy is about to do something. It's possible that it's aimed at you or Lady Black heart."

He could see her thinking it over and he bowed before leaving. His work was done for now and the only clue he'd gotten was that this person was good. Very good.

* * *

The smell of blood greeted him in his sleep. The walls and floor were painted red as was the being in front of him. The juggernaut in silver armor was back and once again painted scarlet. It wielded a sword this time. A blinding white with a line of red down the center.

It was a strange feeling he got. They both seemed surprised to be here. The juggernaut looked at him before sheathing it's sword on it's back. It stared silently at him.

He had his rifle pointed at the knight and after a moment he relaxed while placing the gun across his back onto the armour's magnetic holster.

The two beings stared at each other before a deep almost mechanical laugh echoed from the knight. It spoke and the world shook slightly.

"I do wonder why you've caught my interest. "

He stared at the knight and shook his head as he tried to find a place to lean that wasn't covered in blood.

"Did you do this?"

The knight shook it's head.

"Sadly this seems to be the work of a third party. I doubt Lastation has much interest in rooms such as this."

"Agreed."

A mechanical hum came from the knight as the space around them changed.

"Oh? Your mindscape changed? Not by your own doing?"

He shook his head as he moved for his rifle. The knight reached for its greatsword.

A flash of light changed the space into a white expanse and Miles saw the figure of Noire walking towards them. Her dress fluttered in the nonexistent wind as her shortsword glowed with power.

"Lady Noire? Why are you here?"

The knight let out a grunt of disapproval as it looked at the goddess.

"I'm afraid that isn't your goddess soldier. Her eyes are the key."

He looked at the knight for a second then looked at the goddess… her eyes shone in a deep gold hue, not their crimson glow. His rifle was in his hand with one quick motion and he'd fired a shot as soon as it was steady.

The round was cut in half with barely a movement. Faster then he could blink she appeared. Her sword inches from his chest. The only saving grace was the knights sword. The flat blade deflected the strike away and with a deep roar the knight pushed her away.

"I recommend you stay at range. Let me deal with her… no not her. It."

He gave a nod and carefully moved back. He kept his gun aimed at her and noted her lack of movement. She didn't even blink.

A chill ran down his spine and he whirled around. Her sword drove straight for him but wedged itself into his rifle instead of his chest. In an instant the knight appeared and shoulder checked the goddess away.

"It seems as though it's after you."

He reached for his pistol and took the knights back.

"You know what it is?"

The knight let out a hum.

"Not what it is in this world. But from mine it was called a Mimic. It takes the form of the strongest being in one's mind and attacks them. If they're defeated they lose their mind and either die or go crazy."

He could feel the sigh already.

"Just what I needed. First someone steals transports from Lastation and now I've got some lunatic attempting to kill my mind."

He missed the way the knight went rigid after his venting.

A laugh came from the knight that was deep and as tremendous as it's armour.

"You've certainly been busy. Though I suggest less lamenting and more shooting."

The Illusion of Noire darted towards him and he ducked on instinct. He watched as the knights blade soared over his head milliseconds after he ducked and knocked the shortsword from the goddesses hands.

He didn't waste the precious opportunity and emptied the entire magazine of his pistol into the illusion. It stumbled backwards and slowly rose only to be driven through by the knights sword.

The illusions eyes never left his as it slowly faded.

He found his rifle back in his hands and that he'd pointed it at the knight whose figure slowly shifted.

The armour disappeared and seemed to melt into a flowing black cloak that concealed it's body. A white mask as plain as a marble wall appeared. It had no holes for eyes or even any breathing holes. It was just a single piece of smooth marble.

"Ah. I'm back in my original form. Finally."

He half depressed the trigger and the safety clicked off. The sound of the rifle winding up reverberated through the space and the white plate of the Knight faced him.

"I want a name."

"oh? Mine I take It?"

"Who else is here?"

The Knight shrugged and he could sense a smirk behind it's mask.

"You may call me Lance. I come with a warning. That was my original purpose… I'm what you call a… prophet I suppose. I mean no harm so please drop the gun. It'll only make you disregard the warning."

"How many of your prophecies have been right?"

The mechanical laugh sounded again and he could feel a strange pressure fill the space.

"I've divined a hundred prophecies. Every single one was accurate down to the ripple in the lake a hundred years after."

He glared at Lance and after a moment lowered his rifle slightly. Lance coughed.

"One of the goddesses shall be attacked. One in a high tower. Their city shall be lit ablaze. Their defenses shall crumble. Their castle shall be stormed."

He waited for more and when none came he glared at Lance.

"Not very clear is it? Anything else?"

"That is all. I suggest you prepare. Your involvement and decisions may be pivotal in saving that goddess. I have a piece of advice if you want it"

He stared and nodded his head as he carefully thought of the implications. A high tower? That had to be either Lastation or Planeptune… Lowee was a castle while Leanbox was more of a cathedral…

"My advice stands as this. A risk must be taken. You must choose whether to trust they who appear from the shadows or to not."

"Not much advice when it's as cryptic as your prophecy."

Lance laughed.

"Its the best I can do. Until next Miles Decard."


End file.
